


Bonds

by ewinofthelake



Series: The Deadly Duo in Time [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Carnival of Venice, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Masks, No One needs a hug, Scars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 23:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17949491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ewinofthelake/pseuds/ewinofthelake
Summary: Venice, 28 February 1775 – Mardi Gras.Arya Stark attends a masquerade ball that leaves her pondering on a life-changing decision.





	Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> La Serenissima is the Italian for the Most Serene Republic.  
> The Doge was the ruler of the Republic of Venice.  
> The bauta is one of the traditional Venetian masks.  
> San Marco is of course the world-famous square.
> 
> English is not my first language and I have no beta.  
> ASoIaF characters belong to George R. R. Martin.  
> Bauta mask photo credit to the owner.

 

 

Arya had lost count of how many times she had been asked for a dance that night. The music, the other guests and their fancy dresses, the lavish food and the vintage wine and the happiness paraded all around were suffocating her, and Sansa didn't even seem to mind, engrossed as she was with that arrogant blondie who would have surely dismissed her as soon as another nice girl stepped in and begged for his attention. _When are you going to learn, Sansa?_

The Stark sisters were visiting Venice with their father, a rich merchant who always insisted that his only daughters accompany him on his travels abroad. Venice held the Carnival that month, perhaps the biggest annual festival of La Serenissima, with masquerade balls and feasts thrown all around town. He had arranged for Arya and Sansa to be invited to the Mardi Gras grand ball hosted in one of the opulent villas owned by the Doge. A unique event the girls couldn't miss, he thought.

But Arya couldn't even breathe.

In response to the umpteenth faceless masked male who asked her for a dance, she turned away and marched out of the ballroom, stepping through the nearest set of French doors onto the large terrace overlooking the gardens at the back of the villa.

She took off her mask and breathed – _finally_  – then went and sat on the bulky stone stairs leading to the gardens below, throwing her mask carelessly aside.

"Girl. Lovely girl," a husky voice called behind her.

She turned her head. No one was there.

When she turned back to look towards the gardens, a man was standing in front of her, a few steps below, one elbow resting casually on the wide marble stair railing, and his free hand toying with her mask. She realised she had seen him inside, talking with the Doge and his retinue. She remembered she had found herself staring at him, more than once – his movements almost cat-like in their grace, the way he moved his hands as he spoke... She was fascinated. He never came to ask her for a dance, though.

"What do you want?" Arya couldn't help but blurt out.

"A man has a thirst for knowledge." The light coming from the villa illuminated his eyes. They were sea blue and spoke of adventures. "And a girl could make a friend."

"I have friends." And he had an accent. Not Venetian, but she couldn't place it.

"A man does not think she does. A girl has rejected every attempt at making conversation tonight."

 _How could he..._  "I have friends... back home." _One_  friend, to be exact – the young, chubby cook working at the Starks' residence. But this man didn't need to know.

"And where is _home?_ "

"London," she blurted out. _Damn, why am I still talking to this stranger?_

 

 

She couldn't even see his face. In truth, she could see close to nothing about him. A pure white bauta mask covered his features. The black satin headwear he donned under his cocked hat kept her from seeing his hair. And a full-circle cloak completely hid his body – it must have swallowed her mask as well, because at some point she couldn't see it in his hand anymore.

But she felt he was not a stranger at all. She felt a deep connection with him. She felt she could be her real self while in his presence. And she was entranced by his eyes – the only part of him he revealed to her; and enraptured by his voice – so deep yet so young.

"A girl is far from home. She must as well have a thirst for knowledge, then. To see new places. To learn."

"A girl wants escape," she mocked his peculiar speech pattern. "But her life seems planned out completely."

This was not the life she wanted. The words her father used to tell her when she was a child resonated in her mind. _You will marry a lord and rule his castle, and your sons will be knights and princes and–_

And her corset was strangling her.

His eyes narrowed in curiosity. "A girl keeps secrets."

Indeed.

Every time she visited a new place with her father, Arya planned foolish ways for her to stay, to have a new life. If only she could have a new face as well. But that was not as easy as putting on a mask.

"How could you know? I... I didn’t think you even saw me." No one saw her. Her and her horseface and her tomboyishness. All her suitors were only after her family money.

"A man sees. A man knows."

They talked. About everything. Arya couldn't stop. She told him of her hopes and dreams, of her plans, and he told her of the sadness he could see in her eyes when she talked about leaving her beloved family behind.

The sadness that had drawn him to her in the first place. The sadness that he wanted to erase from her starry eyes. Forever.

But this he didn't tell.

"A girl's happiness must come first. She cannot give up her hopes and dreams forever."

"I don't know if I'm ready – ready to become someone else."

"But a girl is someone else already. She must become her real self, now. And she should not be afraid to do it."

He let his words sink in.

His words, his actions were so controlled, so disciplined. The mask he wore seemed to keep all his emotions inside, hidden from her, hidden from everyone. Yet he slipped up sometimes; he let his emotions rule. Arya learned that when this happened his usual speech pattern changed.

He spoke again.

"You should come with me." His unexpected offer startled her, and she looked him straight in the eye. "We would travel the world, get to know different cultures, eat delicious things... Make love."

She blushed, but held his gaze unafraid.

_Fierce... Unashamed... Lovely girl._

In her life, she wouldn't make the same mistake her sister did with that big, grumpy lad who promised her a future and was rejected because of Sansa's frivolity.

Arya _truly_  wanted to know as much as she could about this man.

"Would you let me see your face?"

His overall playful demeanour suddenly shied to seriousness. "Faces are as good as poison."

He reached out his hand. Hesitantly, she took it, and he helped her to stand.

"But a girl needs to see," he murmured as he meticulously took off his hat and placed it on the marble railing. Then he proceeded to remove his mask.

_Oh, his beautiful, beautiful face._

His beautiful face was marked by a deep scar running all across his cheek from the corner of his mouth up to his temple, forcing him into an unnatural grimace forever.

"Seven hells!" She instinctively reached out to cup his cheeks, but stopped her hands just before touching his skin, afraid she might hurt him.

"Go ahead, sweet girl." He averted his gaze for a brief moment as he placed the mask on the railing, beside his hat. Dejection was clear in his voice. "It does not hurt as much as it seems."

Painstakingly slow, she softly brushed her fingertips down the sides of his face. It was beautiful indeed, young no doubt, and framed by long, dark red hair. And his smoky eyes were so intense – deep pools of blue standing out in the subtle asymmetry of his countenance.

When her hands reached his jawline and she was about to break contact with his skin, he gently grabbed her wrists and kissed her palms, one by one.

Arya couldn't take her eyes off his.

"A man is..." He lowered his gaze and continued. "A man was one of the personal guards of the Doge. We were ambushed one day, and badly outnumbered. A girl can see the outcome."

Her hands were still in his. She threaded her fingers through his and gripped tight.

"But..." His gaze came up to meet hers again. And there it was. The spark, back in his eyes. "The offender breathes no more."

She allowed the faintest of smiles to appear on her lips.

"The cut became infected, and a man was in a severe fever for days. The Doge granted him a lifelong gratitude for saving his life, and enough gold to last him a lifetime. Now that he is well, a man came to pay his respects before leaving."

"Where are you going?" She interrupted him with a slight uneasiness in her voice. She felt she didn't want to lose this mysterious man so soon.

"Far and away across the Mediterranean Sea. To Dalmatia, Crete, Cyprus..." He gazed at her through his eyelashes with those intoxicating eyes of his. "A man's offer still stands."

Arya disengaged her hands gently from his, and wrapped her arms around herself. Once again she felt she couldn't breathe. "When..." For entirely different reasons this time. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow." He paused. "A man will leave at noon. From the waterfront at San Marco." _Come with me, lovely girl._

In a whirlwind of emotions, her mind processed all he was offering her, all he could show her, all she would lose, but also all she could gain.

"I hope I will see you again, Arya Stark."

A sudden gust of wind blew his mask away from its place on the marble railing, and she let her gaze follow the white disguise down until it touched the ground.

When she looked back up, he was gone.

She stooped down to pick up the mask, and clutching it to her chest she realised he knew her name and she didn't know his.

**Author's Note:**

> If this saddened you too much, remember there's [Assassins in Winterfell](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1233815) to cheer you up :)


End file.
